Hello, mapmaker! Have you ever been on the Trail of Time? If you haven\u2019t, you should. It\u2019s a part of the East Glacier web of trails and it\u2019s an especially engaging walk because it tracks the movement of the Mendenhall Glacier throughout recent history. You can stand, for example, on the spot where the face of the glacier rested a hundred years ago. Pretty neat, I know.<\/p>\n
I think out of all the ways to mark the glacier\u2019s progress, it\u2019s one of the most charming. And it\u2019s a lot like how we map most things in a small town, I think \u2014 by where things used to be rather than what is there now. Plenty of people still call the Juneau Arts and Humanities Center the \u201cOld Armory,\u201d (sorry, JAHC, I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll ever win that one), and businesses are often referred to by the name of the place that used to be there: \u201cthe Old NAO\u201d and \u201cthe Old Silverbow.\u201d Not to mention the small town residential taxonomy, \u201cOh, Martha lives over by Joe\u2019s mother\u2019s friend\u2019s old yellow house across the street from where the old hen house used to be.\u201d No, this is not how people usually give directions in cities. But if you live here long enough, it\u2019ll end up being the way you talk, too.<\/p>\n
Another way to think about it is through skiing. For the skiers out there, you know when you look at a map of Eaglecrest, you\u2019re not just seeing the mountain itself, you\u2019re exploring an inner map of every possible route and terrain from your past experiences. I look at the mountain and can trace in my mind the specific jumps and moguls I can take. I want to traverse to the camel humps, pop down Hang Ten, carve down to the pony express above Motherlode and shoot out beneath The Face with enough inertia to take me past the top of Hooter and over Astronaut, before sliding into the strip of trees between Sneaky and Sourdough.<\/p>\n
See how it works? A memory map can hold so much more than an ordinary map because a memory map not only holds the places in relation to each other but also a series of experiences. In other words, it\u2019s not just a map of space, but time.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve got a few maps. For example, I\u2019ve got a map just of places you can park your car and play guitar. I often find that I\u2019d like to play guitar in my car, but doing it in the driveway just wouldn\u2019t feel the same. So I cruise around and find spots where I can practice in peace. I\u2019ve got four spots on Backloop, a couple out Thane. Whenever I drive by one of my favorite guitar-spots, I feel like I have a secret geography that\u2019s just mine, and to me, that\u2019s pretty cool. Here are some other maps of Juneau I have: old friend\u2019s houses, good places to walk at night, shortcuts for biking or longboarding, waterfalls, the best fire-pits, the most secluded look-outs, the best berry picking spots, good outdoor spots to read, public WiFi\u2026<\/p>\n
Everyone makes their own maps even if they don\u2019t realize it. It doesn\u2019t just have to be places you\u2019ve been, either. Think about any foreign country you\u2019ve ever dreamed about travelling to. No doubt your mental map of, say, your dream vacation in Barcelona has more wrinkles and details than, say, your mental map of Topeka. For the people that grew up here, their map is partly inherited, partly made up of old memories. For the transplants, it\u2019s like they get to make a map from scratch. Memorable firsts and where-were-you-when-you-heard can stick in your map like pins and little flags.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a great little pamphlet you can find at Alaska Robotics that illustrates this so well. It\u2019s a map of downtown Juneau, and a little marker where the sidewalk goes \u201cgadunk\u201d near South Franklin. Anyone who\u2019s walked on it knows what that means, and that makes it special.<\/p>\n
Well, if anyone out there is making a map of funny things about Juneau, I have something for you. If you take the road just to the right of the Salvation Army, you\u2019ll notice a big gray building on your left and a large metal door with a black button. You push it, and it makes a big \u201cawooga\u201d sound. What\u2019s it for? I don\u2019t know. Am I probably annoying people with very important jobs when I push it? Possibly. But if anyone is looking for more \u201cgadunks\u201d to add to their map, there it is.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Guy About Town appears the first and third Sunday of every month and includes seasonal musings on what changes and what doesn\u2019t in a small town. Guy can be reached at unzicker.music@gmail.com.<\/p>\n
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More Neighbors<\/strong><\/p>\n Scouts go on 217-mile high adventure trek<\/a><\/p>\n Nurse practitioner students help rural Head Start kids<\/a><\/p>\n Living & Growing: What the Interfaith Council brings to the table<\/a><\/p>\n